New ‘Star Wars’ Films to be Released Annually Beginning in 2015

Star Wars fans all around the world have been eagerly anticipating the return of the franchise since Disney’s announcement that a new film was in the works last fall. This week, however, it was revealed that while fans have to wait until 2015 for Star Wars: Episode VII, the wait for new films following its debut will be much shorter, as new Star Wars films are set to be released annually starting in 2015.

Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn announced this exciting schedule this week at CinemaCon. Following the release of Star Wars: Episode VII in 2015, two more Star Wars films will be released by the end of the decade, with their debuts set for 2017 and 2019.

For the years in between the studio’s major Star Wars releases, Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm will be releasing the Star Wars spinoffs that we initially heard about earlier this year. The new spinoff films will likely focus on individual characters from the Star Wars franchise, including Han Solo and Boba Fett, and will be written by Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan with Simon Kinberg. The spin-off films are expected to debut in 2016 and 2018.